8.9 in Japan

Last Friday, the world watched with horror as an 8.9 earthquake rocked Japan and a tsunami produced a 23 feet wave that destroyed a large part of the north-east section of the island. I can't stop thinking about it. On the one hand it's rather incredible, especially the photo of the sea churning and looking rather beautiful. The photo of the wave showed nature at it's mightiest and literally stopped my breath as I thought of all those people. It is hard to fathom the last thoughts of the people caught in the wave or those who were unaware until the water slammed into them. My heart bleeds for them and I say a prayer for those thousands of persons who have died and the millions that must continue life without them. I pray particularly for the three Jamaicans who cannot be found and hope that it's simply a matter of communication.

Japan's 8.9 is the third major quake since the start of the year - and I suspect there were more that I can't remember. World disasters happen so rapidly now that I've begun a retreat from the media. I'm not as rabid as I was for some breaking news but check in when I wish. Sometimes it's every day, sometimes not. Locally, I try to read the newspaper daily - or rather glance through it and read what I want, usually something light mixed in with at least one important piece or commentary, depending on my mood. It's all too shocking and with the recession and the difficulties we're facing in Jamaica and in my job, my brain cannot absorb it all and I find it hard to think and focus.

My daughter says what happened in Japan is like the movie 2012 and she's partially correct. With the climbing number of disasters, I have to wonder if the world is truly not coming to an end, or if the planet is not at a point of repositioning itself for a new beginning, much like scientists thought happened when the dinosaurs became extinct. Everything is topsy turvey, from the weather to human behaviour. It all seems out of whack and I keep thinking, where has it all come from? But I think I know. In the last 15 years, technology has opened up a can of worms none of us thought possible. Two years ago we would not have gotten photos of the Japan earthquake within minutes of it happening and as it happened. Two years ago we would have heard the news hours later and would have to wait a day or two for photographs. Now, the news is instant and with that comes a level of anxiety that no one could predict. Maybe these things always happened and we were all wrapped up in our own little world that we didn't notice. Only the history books can tell. What I do know is that we're in a cauldron and someone's lit the fire.

It's my time!

So I get up this morning, this final day of vacation and am bummed out of my wits. I am totally fed up of being broke and have had enough! It's time I do something about it.

I admit that while I've had plenty business ideas in the past have been happy to pass them on to someone else, I know I can develop something and make it great. But everything I can think of requires lots of money, something that I have extremely little of. Lately I've been thinking of my writing and how I've only tackled it in a half-assed way. I've never seriously sought out an agent or a publisher. So these past two weeks that I've been on vacation I've been sending out queries and such. Nothing positive yet but at least 2 nice rejections and 2 promises. Believe me, it's hard work. It's like throwing darts blind folded -- you never know what you're going to hit. Already I know how impossible it is to understand the North American literary market from a country in the Caribbean. It seems like you have to be there in the thick of things in order to know whom to bug and when. Oh, that's another thing, if you don't understand the reading period during the year, forget it. I got one response from a publisher that said I am to check back in November to see if my story was accepted. November! By then I'll be on the street corner begging a change.

So I've been thinking of this self-publishing thing. I go back and forth with it and I've even tried it. I'm proud to say I loaded a bunch of short stories on Kindle and without any form of advertising or publicity, I've sold 29 copies. It's no money, but it's 29 copies among the thousands and thousands of novels and stories on Kindle. Not bad. Not bad at all. If I could only sell 3,000 more a month, I'd be set. LOL! Kindle takes a chunk of money but it's worth it if your intention is for instant publication.

What if I do my novels myself, publish and advertise them and see how that goes? Then when I get some volume going, I can approach an agent. I know few persons have succeeded at this and as a matter of fact, there are established authors who are going the self-publishing way and keeping the money for themselves. It's not easy and it means working remotely and finding the money for ads and a site, but it's certainly doable especially if I tackle one part of the project at a time. My only drawback is me thinking my stories are good enough. It takes the courage of a lion to fight off these nerves.

You know what? I think I'm going to do it. If it fails then I move on to something else.

Onward!